1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sintered glass and glass-ceramic structures and methods for their formation, and particularly sintered glass and glass-ceramic structures formed on a solid substrate and methods for formation of such.
2. Technical Background
One useful fabrication method for the formation of glass or glass-ceramic structures, such as glass or glass-ceramic structures for use as fluidic or microfluidic devices, is to form a relatively fine 3-D structure, such as walls defining fluidic passages of a fluidic or microfluidic device, by shaping a glass frit and binder mixture, on or onto a substrate. The substrate and frit together may then be stacked, with one or more other substrates each of which may have its own patterned frit 3-D structure, and sintered together to form a one-piece or unitary device. For a fuller description of one example of manufacturing methods of this type, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,444, assigned to the assignee of the present application.
Challenges exist, however, in providing high strength in the final device over a range of feature sizes of the patterned frit material. The physical constraint of the substrate can generate cracks in the 3-D structure during the time when the 3-D structure of the formed frit material is sintered. This results in weak spots, points of potential breakage in the final fully sintered product. Thus devices or methods to prevent such crack formation are desirable.